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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29006682">Melancholy Times</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_oys_do_c_ry/pseuds/B_oys_do_c_ry'>B_oys_do_c_ry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Humor, Gen, Humor, Series, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:01:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29006682</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_oys_do_c_ry/pseuds/B_oys_do_c_ry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You go to Knowhere with Quill, Gamora, Drax and Mantis before Thanos can get to the Reality Stone, but who could've foretold the misfortunes that were to come?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Avengers Team/Reader, Guardians of the Galaxy Team/Reader, Nebula (Marvel)/Reader, Rocket Raccoon/Reader, Thor (Marvel)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. There Are Weirder Ways To Learn About Death</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It seemed that most of your life was just filled with bad choices. Like not following Rocket when you had the opportunity. Given the circumstances, you had naturally thought you did what was best by staying with the guys to defeat Thanos. It appeared that you may have been a bit too eager to end the Mad Titan’s reign alongside your family.</p><p>Although, that was before you had all come to the realisation that the plan to apprehend Gamora from her ‘father’ was for nothing. Before you had witnessed Mantis sputter her only and final warning to the group. Before it escalated to the disappearance of Drax and your leader following in turn, dissipating into ashes right before your eyes. You were left speechless after watching the tragic scene unfold as the same thing happened to your other companions, Wizard and Spider-boy.</p><p>By then you had already been prepared for your own demise, alas, it never came. You cursed at whatever mystical god decided that taking what little family you had left and leaving you lonesome was some sort of clever hoax. Deceiving you. Cheating you. In spite of that, you were left with Nebula, the only remaining Guardian, by your side. Along with your Terran ally, Stark, who was in no better shape than you were. Well, emotionally anyway.</p><p>You foggily remember how after what felt like aeons of perching beside the ashes of what used to be your friends, Nebula had already made haste to lead Tony back to the Benatar and, despite your protests, was quick to then drag you onboard also.</p><p>While you remained in the ship’s entryway with Tony, Nebula set her goal to fly you all off into course, getting well and far away from that d'ast planet’s orbit. The plan worked momentarily, enough to get at least one jump away before the engines wiped out completely. Your coordinates were unknown, thanks to the busted transmitting systems. You were on your own.</p><p>You had to admit, you felt so indifferent to the situation, as your two crewmates lamely bickered over what their next strategy would be to get to at least somewhere planet-side. You, on the other hand, had kept mostly to yourself. Stored yourself away in your quarters for days on end trying to reconnect with your absent friends.</p><p>These attempts were made through the sketchy portable transmitter Rocket had made a while back, with the sliver of hope that they could possibly still be on Nidavellir. Although, that “hope” had started to wear really thin.</p><p>The days had been repetitive since then. There would be the occasional times the three of you appreciated each other’s company and did almost anything to pass time. That was at least until the food ran out.</p><p>You had mostly stuck to drinking pretty much anything as a way to ease your starvation, giving the others the chance to eat some of their sorrows away. It wasn’t exactly doing wonders for your physical health, you had to admit. Your body was pretty much starting to carve itself a new one.</p><p>You were never able to deny Nebula of shoving at least a nibble of <em>something </em>down your throat, even if it wasn’t a pretty sight for either of you. Now that Gamora was…out of the picture, she felt that you were relatively her responsibility. Like it’s what her sister would’ve wanted her to do. No matter how problematic.</p><p>Nebula appeared to be handling the situation better than you had expected, well, then again you weren’t going assume too much. From what you’ve witnessed, she seemed to be <em>really</em> good at pushing her feelings aside. You felt as though she was taking care of you “weak Terrans” as an excuse to not have enough time to wallow in her own grief.</p><p>You resigned to observing Stark, the man who’s body was chipping away at itself every day. Honestly, the more you watched him wither away, the more welcoming death seemed to be. As depressing as it sounds. He’d be mostly seen idling in the cockpit, sat ogling at his disembodied helmet, speaking to it day after day.</p><p>You hadn’t actually taken into consideration how Tony must have been feeling in this predicament. It was clear by all the names he would mention that he has a family or at least friends of a sort. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man, despite feeling sorry for you all regardless. He was galaxies away from his home. Everything he’s ever known. In a way, he’s completely alone.</p><p>You hadn’t taken note of how long you had been floating for now. You quit the tally chart once you lost the effort to care. Quill would have given you a hard time about wrecking his 'baby’ with the useless carvings, but you weren’t expecting him to show up with his mardy arse any time soon.</p><p>“Y/N.” You would have never thought the Luphomoid had the capacity to speak as softly as she did. “It’s Stark.”</p><p>You pulled your gaze away from the small glass panel that gave you a view of the Nebula of stars that you were floating by, which you hadn’t looked away from for a good few hours.</p><p>The woman before you stood almost slumped, as her exhaustion had only just begun breaking her down. Her eyes had sunk far into her features, making her metallic implants seem more like they were glued to a bony canvas.</p><p>Sighing, you replied: “Has he finally managed to drive himself mad? 'Cause I think he already hit the brink of insanity five days ago.”</p><p>“No. He’s in and out of sleep. I think the infection is getting worse.” Nebula bounced one of her legs, itching to go back and check on the Terran. “…He’s not going to last much longer.”</p><p>Flexing your head back and giving your arms a good stretch, you stood to your aching feet. The joints in your knees were beginning to buckle like rusty cogs in a machine. This whole starvation thing was really getting on your nerves.</p><p>“That makes three of us.”</p><p>You met Nebula’s gaze, despite her attempts at concealing it, the worry was etched deep in her frown. It had surprised you that she had taken such fondness of Tony, seeing as if this was to happen a year ago, Nebula would have already tossed him out of the airlock in spite of the circumstances.</p><p>“I’ll give him one last check-up before we jump to any, y'know, conclusions.”</p><p>You made way to the cockpit where he lay in Quill’s seat, his head lolled back in pure exhaustion. Poking out from his tanked shirt was his chest that had worsened so far as to say if it wasn’t for his pale layer of skin, he would look wholly skeletal.</p><p>Kneeling beside his lap, you took gentle hold of his wrist, curling your fingers to feel for any sort of pulse.<em> Ba-dum</em>. Faint, but still there.</p><p>“Hey, Humie.” You reached out to place a cold hand upon his forehead, noting how he had succumbed to a hot flush. “We gotta wake up. It’ll be three in the afternoon where you’re from.”</p><p>The man’s eyes flickered open, his orbs finding yours with a weak groan. “First of all, last time I checked, I’m just as human as you. Secondly, <em>fuck</em> sleeping patterns.”</p><p>“You make a valid point, Tinman.” You watched as Tony drew his attention away from you to the window, squinting slightly. “Get it? Like, from The Wizard of Oz.”</p><p>Tony abruptly altered his positioning, pushing himself up by the chair arms, gaze still glued to the windscreen. “Yeah. I appreciate that you know how to make a good pop-culture reference, kid, but who the hell is that?”</p><p>Before you could follow his stare, a tremendously bright light enveloped the entirety of the cockpit, beams glaring here, there and everywhere. As your eyes adjusted to the sudden rays of what you thought to be a dwarf star, you made out a feminine figure floating outside your window.</p><p>Her hair flowed way above her head like she was swimming in a murky pool, but her suit that closely parallelled a Kree soldier’s uniform remained still. Her stance came across almost elegant. The figure’s stare was fixed on the three of you. Examining, determining what do with her newly found novelty.</p><p>“Do we know many bright, hovering women 'round these parts?” Tony chirped up, his 'we’ of course meaning Nebula and you.</p><p>“I’m here to help.” The woman’s accent strongly resembled American, her voice high yet affirmative. Although you couldn’t assume whether that was her real voice as it sounded scrambled through the coms. “Are you guys friends of Steve Rogers? He says he’s looking for a Tony Stork.”</p><p>“Asshole.” Tony mumbled under his breath, “If you’re referring to <em>me</em>, it’s <em>Stark. </em>St-<em>ar</em>-k. Pronunciation is key, sweetheart. Can you believe her?”</p><p>Nebula grumbled from beside you, “Is this seriously important right now?”</p><p>With a roll of her eyes, the otherworldly woman continued. “I’m here to give you a ride back to Terra. So prepare yourself, by the looks of your oxygen levels, this trip is going to have to be swift.”</p><p>With that, she hastily flew her way to the other end of the ship, applied a great amount of pressure with much ease. Soon enough, the ship made a dash through the vastness of space, stars darting by in a flash.</p><p>Not having the chance to be seated, Nebula fixed her stance with her metallic arm viced to one of the chairs. As for yourself, you were whipped back by the sheer force with your body colliding into the freezing aluminium flooring. You groaned as your elbows were the first to come into contact with the ground.</p><p>“My elbows feel like static TV, guys.”</p><p>Your arrival on Earth came before you felt you had time to process the fact that you were actually back here, <em>without </em>the rest of your family. You rose hesitantly from the position you acquainted to on the ground, eyes wide as you inspected the area your ship was being dropped into.</p><p>It was dark, for one. Mist coated the dimly-lit sky, ghosting out of the entanglement of trees. A gush of wind blew through the shamrock grass as the spacewoman parked the ship in a lawn accompanied by a large establishment.</p><p>The three of you shared a momentary look of awareness before hurriedly scrambling to exit the cockpit, making way to the airlock.</p><p>Now, in the fresh air, your lungs expanded as if on an automatic refill. The cold air hitting the back of your throat resulted in a chill rippling down your spine.</p><p>
  <em>'Yep, that’s Earth’s air alright’.</em>
</p><p>While you were taking in your semi-familiar surroundings, Nebula stayed beside you while Tony spoke to those who were spewing out from the building before you.</p><p>Your gaze flickered from one wary person to the other, withdrawing at the first perplexed glare that was sent your way. You didn’t think you could ever feel as useless as you did now. Like a lost child who was being held up by complete strangers until their supposed Guardians came.</p><p>But now there wasn’t any left.</p><p>“Y/N?”</p><p>That gruff voice definitely caught your attention.</p><p>Lowering your gaze, you caught sight of the raccoon himself as he weaved himself through the sea of legs. Why was he here on the planet you would’ve least expected him to be on? You had no idea. But because of your circumstances, you were gonna take any luck you could get.</p><p>“You gotta be shitting me.” A grin of solace was plastered on his face as he neared towards where you stood, “You have no idea how great it is to finally see your ugly mugs! I-” then having it fall entirely in mid-haste as he saw no sign of the rest of your family piling out of the ship to oppose his greeting.</p><p>“Wha- Did they…” His eyes clung to yours, searching for any strand of a hopeful answer. He watched as you gaped at his form, your eyes flickering from him to the area around where he stood.</p><p>No comment needed. Not that you’d be able to give him one anyway, despite your hanging jaw, you were incapable of stringing together a sentence.</p><p>Coming to the realisation that his prediction was correct, Rocket choked out a staggered breath, roughly grasping at the fur above his brows. “No, no, no. Oh, <em>fuck</em>.”</p><p>Given his clear distress, Groot’s absence became more and more apparent to you by the second. Your heart lurched at the sudden awareness that you weren’t the only one dealing with such misfortune. You were lucky enough that you hadn’t been living off of the misconception that you hadn’t lost your entire family.</p><p>You took a short and shaky stride towards the Benetar’s steps, perching on the ledge closest to the ground. A sense of guilt and remorse overwhelmed you.</p><p>How could you have been so melancholy? When it was your friend who had lost Groot, again, and was left lonesome on a planet this entire time. How could you have been so selfish to think <em>you</em> had it bad?</p><p>“I should’ve gone with you.” You managed to blurt, your bottom lip quivering and you crossed your arms firmly against your chest. You had to resist the urge to vomit.</p><p>Halting his frantic muttering, Rocket stopped in front you, the fur on his cheeks damp. “N-no you can’t-”</p><p>His voice hitched, gulping down a sob before continuing. “<em>Don’t</em> fucking blame yourself. For once, this was something out of our control, okay?”</p><p>“I-” You couldn’t hold back your cries any longer. Supporting your head up by resting your forehead in your palm, as your tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down your face. “I just want them back.”</p><p>Surprisingly, on his own accord, Rocket cradled your head, vicing it to his chest from where he stood. He sobbed unceasingly into your hair, claws clutching at the hem of your shirt and his body moving along with every shake of your shoulders.</p><p>A tiny lapse let him pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before he collapsed again, his howls of misery worsening. The pain must have come in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths, before hurling him back into the outstretched arms of his grief.</p><p>You felt the muscles of your chin tremble like a small child, the familiar taste of salt collecting in the corners of your mouth. Why in Gods name did this have to happen? Why?</p><p>“I want to go home.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. You Defied Death For This?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The quarters were quiet tonight, well, every night seemed quiet now. Maybe the fact that you were now brought into a new environment played a part. Where you couldn’t hear the well-known repetitive mix-tape playing throughout the Benatar’s corridors, along with the usual bickering from the people that were in your life only a month ago.</p><p>You’d take the endless arguments and never-ending noise of your family any day if it meant you wouldn’t be drowning in the silence of a place you had unbeknownst of. With people you couldn’t even call acquaintances.</p><p>You would have never thought of being in an ordeal where being surrounded by strangers could feel so lonely. Despite Rocket being the only other family member to withstand, not having his company around made you feel as if you really had lost everyone.</p><p>He wouldn’t leave the guest bedroom that he was accustomed to using, although you’d be a liar if you said you hadn’t been doing the same. You had an understanding of how Rocket would have felt when he watched Groot pass right before his eyes. You felt that giving him time to grieve on his own would be the best suit since he preferred his privacy. But it had been three days since then, and the abandonment was taking a toll on you.</p><p>You yearned for that company. For his company. For the company and comfort of the only loved one you had left. Yet, all you had now was yourself.</p><p>You were sat upon your temporary cot, with your back against the wall and your legs crossed, covered with an unexplainably thin cotton blanket. Although, you were currently in a warmer climate so the circumstances were understandable.</p><p>With the help of your secluded silence, your mind took advantage to roam free to whatever thoughts ran through it. It’s not like you were new to this, the Guardians had always said that you were a daydreamer. As they’d point it out daily. Especially Drax, seeing as his booming laughter would snap you right back to reality, saying he had almost mistaken you for falling asleep with your eyes open.</p><p>Your lips twitched into a small grin, the memory being oh so bittersweet at the moment. The pang of grief deep within your chest hadn’t gone unnoticed, especially since you felt your eyes begin to sour, tears taking form. But after the relentless crying during the lonely nights in your room, you couldn’t bring yourself to let a single one falter.</p><p>A light pitter-patter was sounded from the outside of the door to your secluded confinement, a thought occurred that it was just the regular person passing by. Brushing it off, you drew your attention elsewhere, until there was a patterned knock on your door. Thinking it was just that Steve guy coming to check on you like he regularly would, as he did with everyone else staying in the facility, you replied.</p><p>“Come i-” You broke off, voice harsh and croaky. The lack of verbal communication had run your throat dry. Clearing your throat with a scratchy cough, you called out again, “Come in.”</p><p>The twirling of the small door handle sounded and shortly after, the door quietly swung open. Confusion growing as you didn’t expect to see the face you knew all too well. The Raccoon’s figure was found standing awkwardly at the entrance to your room, his gaze lingering on your tired looking form.</p><p>Your complexion was pale like your skin hadn’t been shone to the sun in days, which is remotely correct. Some certain features of yours slimmed down, after the countless nights of no food.</p><p>“Hey.” There was a slight anxious flick of his left ear when he spoke. You also noticed that his voice seemed to be much lower and gruff than usual, but you didn’t see it as a bother. His fur looked to be a lot more rough and dirty, like back when you first met, a clear sign that he hadn’t showered since he was last on the Benatar.</p><p>“Hey there, stranger.” You replied with a friendly smile, motioning for him to sit with a wave of your hand. A warmth had bubbled in your stomach, finally seeing Rocket again and being able to converse with him eased you out of your fatigued state. Only slightly.</p><p>You hadn’t really been taking care of yourself in here, stated by the overworn sweatpants and not so luscious locks. You hadn’t felt this gross since before you met the guardians. But you didn’t have a single ounce of motivation to wipe at your grime ridden face.</p><p>Rocket hopped up onto your cot, making the smallest of dents in the mattress where his body sat, just beside your legs. His feet dangled off the side of the bed, body facing away from you. He took a couple of wary glances your way before speaking.</p><p>“Have you…left the room at all?”</p><p>“No, but Rogers has knocked on time to time to see how everything’s going.” You fiddled with the lace on your sweatpants. “He doesn’t seem as passive-aggressive as the others.”</p><p>Rocket gave a light wave of his hand with a frown. “Mmn, that guy seems too high maintenance for my likin’. He couldn’t even take a single look at me when he offered a glass of water at my door.”</p><p>His gaze remained fixated on his hands, his thumbs twiddling over each other repeatedly. Your eyes lingered on the raccoon momentarily.</p><p>“I don’t think they’re entirely comfortable with us being here.”</p><p>“Ya’ think? I can’t even do a single thing ‘round here without everyone’s attention on me all the damn time.” Rocket kicked his legs up onto the bed with a huff and crossed them to sit in a more relaxed position beside you.</p><p>“Since when do you not like a little bit of attention?” You smirked at your team member with a raise of an eyebrow.</p><p>“Since it involves me not being able to grab a decent meal in this crummy compound. Seriously, it covers half a mile worth of land and only has one fucking kitchen. Unbelievable.”</p><p>“Have you actually tried going down there?” You retorted, crossing your arms over your torso.</p><p>Rocket mimicked your position in response. “Hey, I don’t see you making any attempts to have a lovely breakfast with our roomies downstairs.”</p><p>A smile ghosted over your lips, letting out a breathy chuckle. “Okay, okay. Point made.”</p><p>Your eyes were drawn over to the window, a view of the fields surrounding the Avengers compound filled the entirety of what you could capture from your spot. Then your gaze peered over to the misty sky. Clouds had built up to the point where no mid-afternoon sunlight could seep in.</p><p>Thoughts coiled in your mind, a mixture of mourning and the longing for home tossing in your stomach as a way of reminding you that the comfort you were seeking wasn’t here. Although you were fortunate for still having Rocket living and breathing right beside you, the emptiness in your heart still yearned to be home again. Out in space, with all of your family.</p><p>Sensing your dismay, without acknowledgement, Rocket had scooched his way closer by your side as your gaze remained on the upper atmosphere through the peering glass. He hesitantly placed a comforting hand on your own which laid on your lap, the warmth radiating through your veins. This is where you had come to realise how touch-starved you have been for the past week.</p><p>“I wish we could just leave.” You spoke up with your face still glued to the window, but your hand made way to grasp a hold of Rocket’s, his fingers curling around your thumb. “I just wanna fly outta here, me and you, and pretend nothing ever happened.”</p><p>“Y/N,” Rocket gulped down the ball lodged in his throat, voice thick. “It’s not as easy as you’re making it sound.”</p><p>Your only response was a nod, sucking in your bottom lip to hold in the whimper that was threatening to escape. Taking in a deep breath, you made a change in conversation.</p><p>“Have you heard from Neb at all?”</p><p>Rocket furrowed his eyebrows in thought, “Not since the night she came back with Stark and you, which is who she’s probably ditched us for downstairs.”</p><p>“I really doubt she ditched us-” Your voice was interrupted by a knock at your door. “Rogers?”</p><p>The handle clicked as the door began to open with a familiar Norse God standing in the clear. “Thor, actually.” The man’s gravelly voice answered in return.</p><p>The man still gave your chest a slow burn, knowing your encounter with him was what brought your family to such misfortune.</p><p>Both yours and Rocket’s gaze waited on him expectantly, waiting for Thor to actually tell you why he came to your room so unannounced. Rocket waved his arm in a suggestion for him to start speaking. Thor cleared his throat before doing so.</p><p>“Natasha sent me to ask for you to come and have a meal with us all downstairs. They want you to feel more welcome whilst you’re staying here.”</p><p>Sharing a knowing look with your companion, Rocket spoke up. “We’ll meet you down there, Thor.” The raccoon kept his tone soft with the God, seeing as the man was going through some hard times just as much as you were.</p><p>“Splendid.” Thor finished with a twitch of a smile and left to close the door behind him.</p><p>After a moment Rocket turned to you with a shit-eating smirk.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You really don’t like him do you?”</p><p>“I never said that-”</p>
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